Publisher's Synopsis
Roy Heath's remarkable novel is set in Guyana and tells the story of Galton Flood, a man who grows up humiliated by his fiercely puritanical mother and undermined by the successes of his older brother. He moves away to the anonymity of a small harbour town where he meets Gemma, a woman who unwittingly fuels his despair and drives him to an act of brutal violence. And so the slow fuse of gradual derangement burns on, pulling him further into his own agonized and paranoid world. Galton Flood, anti-hero, has become neither lovable nor malign, but the victim instead of a terrible vulnerability.
First published in 1978, The Murderer is an extraordinary novel of chilling truthfulness and a story of memorable tension.
'A notable study of paranoia, remarkable for its psychological insight and the restraint of its climax' Guardian
'Mysteriously authentic, and unique as a work of art' Observer
'A hauntingly powerful story . . . echoes of V.S. Naipaul at his most perceptive' New York Times Book Review
'Few weeks bring a novel in which not a single character is a stereotype and the chief character is unique' Francis King
'A beautiful writer and an unforgettable book' Salman Rushdie
